Hi all, this health concern of mine has nothing to do with tinnitus, but I know everyone in this forum is pretty switched on and maybe can help me figure out what's going on and what to do. Eye doctors haven't particularly helpful, and neither has Dr Google, who puts up the same suggestions every single search. Apologies for this very long post.
Background info: woman, 29 years old. I am nearsighted and wear glasses with a strong prescription, and have astigmatism in at least one eye (right for sure, not sure about left). Been wearing glasses for 20+ years. My retinas I know are thin, but I have never had a hole or a tear. My most recent routine exam was 4 weeks ago, which confirmed they are still intact. Eye doctors have always done the barrage of routine tests (air puff, retina photos, pupil dilation) and have always said my eyes are healthy, no degeneration or glaucoma or signs of premature onset of age-related problems.
Also I get migraines with scintillating scotoma, but those visuals are totally different from what I'm about to describe and are followed by the usual migraine funs of pain and nausea, so I doubt these day-to-day lights are migraine related.
So the short of it is I see a lot of light streaks and spots. I have a lot of floaters too, but they aren't new or sudden, so I'm not concerned about them from a health perspective, but they may be a piece of the puzzle.
I see two kinds of streaks. One kind looks like a bright pinprick trailing across my field of vision. It looks very much like what happens when you push a fingernail into a plasma TV screen and then drag your finger along: the screen gets bright under your finger and then trails wherever your finger goes. These streaks usually follow a few defined paths, like snaking along the bottom of my eye, for example. Only in one eye at a time, usually right.
The other kind is like a lightning strike. An initial bright spot will branch out into multiple trailing lights that cover an area of my eye. That area will start to look green (like an afterimage from looking at something bright) and lightning will keep crackling inside it for a short time, like in a stormcloud. After the lightning stops, the green "cloud" will fade after some minutes. Again, usually happens in the right eye. I've been seeing this type of light over the last six months or so, whereas the plasma streaks have been with me for at least two years.
I also see spots. They are very frequent, multiple times every day. They aren't dark per se, more like green and purple-looking afterimages from looking at bright things. They aren't from light coming in though, they are definitely coming from within. Brighter around the edges and darker inside. Easier to see with my eyes closed.
Finally, I see random pinpricks of light throughout the day. They're random and brief.
Apologies again for the length of this post. If anyone who got through the whole thing has any idea what's going on, please I'd love to hear your ideas. I don't know what any of these symptoms are called, so have nothing to accurately search on the internet, or easily explain to doctors. Should I be seeing an ophthalmologist? A neurologist? Could the cause be in my brain? Could neck strain from my horrendous posture cause lights? I have no idea where to start.
Thank you for reading!
Background info: woman, 29 years old. I am nearsighted and wear glasses with a strong prescription, and have astigmatism in at least one eye (right for sure, not sure about left). Been wearing glasses for 20+ years. My retinas I know are thin, but I have never had a hole or a tear. My most recent routine exam was 4 weeks ago, which confirmed they are still intact. Eye doctors have always done the barrage of routine tests (air puff, retina photos, pupil dilation) and have always said my eyes are healthy, no degeneration or glaucoma or signs of premature onset of age-related problems.
Also I get migraines with scintillating scotoma, but those visuals are totally different from what I'm about to describe and are followed by the usual migraine funs of pain and nausea, so I doubt these day-to-day lights are migraine related.
So the short of it is I see a lot of light streaks and spots. I have a lot of floaters too, but they aren't new or sudden, so I'm not concerned about them from a health perspective, but they may be a piece of the puzzle.
I see two kinds of streaks. One kind looks like a bright pinprick trailing across my field of vision. It looks very much like what happens when you push a fingernail into a plasma TV screen and then drag your finger along: the screen gets bright under your finger and then trails wherever your finger goes. These streaks usually follow a few defined paths, like snaking along the bottom of my eye, for example. Only in one eye at a time, usually right.
The other kind is like a lightning strike. An initial bright spot will branch out into multiple trailing lights that cover an area of my eye. That area will start to look green (like an afterimage from looking at something bright) and lightning will keep crackling inside it for a short time, like in a stormcloud. After the lightning stops, the green "cloud" will fade after some minutes. Again, usually happens in the right eye. I've been seeing this type of light over the last six months or so, whereas the plasma streaks have been with me for at least two years.
I also see spots. They are very frequent, multiple times every day. They aren't dark per se, more like green and purple-looking afterimages from looking at bright things. They aren't from light coming in though, they are definitely coming from within. Brighter around the edges and darker inside. Easier to see with my eyes closed.
Finally, I see random pinpricks of light throughout the day. They're random and brief.
Apologies again for the length of this post. If anyone who got through the whole thing has any idea what's going on, please I'd love to hear your ideas. I don't know what any of these symptoms are called, so have nothing to accurately search on the internet, or easily explain to doctors. Should I be seeing an ophthalmologist? A neurologist? Could the cause be in my brain? Could neck strain from my horrendous posture cause lights? I have no idea where to start.
Thank you for reading!
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